Leonardo da Vinci Drawings

Facts about Italy presents: Leonardo da Vinci Drawings

Leonardo da Vinci was famous Italian painter, sculptor, draftsman, engineer and architect who made some of the biggest art masterpieces in the history of a mankind. Probably the most famous works of Leonardo da Vinci are the paintings Mona Lisa (1503–1506) and Last Supper (1495–1498) .

Leonardo da Vinci - Last Supper


Leonardo da Vinci - Mona Lisa


Leonardo da Vinci - Vitruvian Man

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Gomorra - A Must See Movie

Gomorra - A Must See Movie

Italian Mafia movie - Gomorra - was the biggest winner of the the 21st European Film Awards Festival held in Copenhagen, Denmark. Gomorra won 5 awards including the best European movie and best European director.
The story of Gommora is based on a non-fiction book by 29 years old Italian Roberto Saviano, who has lived under the police protection for more than 2 years because of the death threats he received from Italian gangsters, the hard-hitting movie shows us how Italian criminal organization Commora (based in Naples) actually works.

Gomorra made the debut at Cannes Film Festival, France, where the movie won the Grand Prix award and also received the Italian nomination for the 2009 foreign-language movie Oscar.Defiantely a must see! The 2009 European Film Awards will be held in Essen, Germany.

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Italy Vs Europe

Facts about Italy presents Italy Vs Europe

The differences between Italians and Europeans, showed in very funny way. But as always there is some truth in this animated video. Check this video you won't regret, it really very funny!

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Facts about Italy: Venice - Italy

Venice Italy – Quick Presentation
Venice is to the Northwest in Italy. It is also the capital of Veneto and has over 250,000 residents as of 2004. Not only is it a breathtaking city, there is no place you can go and not find romantic gondolas floating to and fro in the water that makes this the “City of Water”. It reaches across 118 tiny islands next to the Adriatic Sea in the northeastern part of Italy. It was built on what is commonly referred to as an Archipelago
Venice Canals

With so much water, it is no wonder that Venice is best known for its canals. Having the smaller islands makes hundreds of canals in the shallows of this lagoon. To keep everything connected, there are over 400 bridges. The canals are the roads of this city. Either you walk to where you need to go or you ride on the water.
View of Venice from St. Mark's Campanile

This is also true of transportation of goods to and from their destination. There is a railway line and an automobile passage but not directly in the city itself. It is the one place in Europe that can be considered to be free of cars and the most environmentally friendly town.
Gondoliers in Venice, Italy

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Facts about Italy: Michelangelo Facts

Facts about Italy presents Michelangelo Facts
Michelangelo was a true genius of his time. He had the most extraordinary skills when it came to painting, engineering, math, philosophy, and architecture. His pride and joy can when he took the challenge and succeeded in painting the Sistine Chapel ceiling with “The Last Judgment”. His sculpture of David was simply magnificent to see and hard to believe this man could have the patience and care needed to complete this tedious task. He believed in finishing a task he started before moving to another.

Born in Italy in 1475, he was one of five boys to father Ludovico di Leonardo di Buonaratto Simoni and mother Francesca Neri. His painting skills were perfected by serving as an apprentice to the great painter Ghirlandaio. He also studied sculpture at the Medici Gardens. He died in 1564 after completing the wall of the Sistine Chapel. Other great works by Michelangelo include Battle of the Centaurs done between 1490 and 1492, the Pieta completed between 1498 and 1500, and the Statue of David sculpted between 1501 and 1512.

The Creation of Adam was created at the same time as he painted the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel from 1505 until 1512.

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Facts about Italy: Florence, Tuscany, Italy – Quick Presentation

Facts about Italy presents Florence, Tuscany, Italy – Quick Presentation
The great Julius Caesar founded Florence Italy in 59 BC as a choice spot to retire his soldiers after their fight in the war. It was built with the soldiers in mind and was an army camp with streets that soon became the hub of the commerce and trade. The beautiful architecture and artistic culture is still found today and is a true miracle to withstand the hundreds of years. Leonardo Da Vinci and Michelangelo were part of those who resided in Florence as was Donatello and Brunelleschi.

In the past few years the amount of people living in Florence has grown to almost one million. The majority of those are known to be Italian and the other 7% are immigrants from another country. Asians make up almost 20,000 residents in the city while the African population ranges at the 11,000 mark. The smallest amounts of those who live in Florence Italy are from America. Weather in Florence is hot and full of humidity from June to August and has low wind to help the temperatures. Very little rain will be seen during the summer. Rain is more prevalent in the winter as is a small amount of snowfall.

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Facts about Italy: Facts About Enzo Ferrari

Facts about Italy presents Facts About Enzo Ferrari

Enzo Ferrari was born in Modena in 1898. Not taking after the men in his family who were food wholesalers and metal workers for the local railways, he chose to follow along with his love of fast cars. It was not long before Ferrari was driving at the mere age of thirteen. At the age of ten, he had already taken his first race with him in his memory. He combined forces with Alfo Romero in 1920 who hired him to be lead driver for the team. Nine years later, he stopped racing and took over the management of the Alfa racing team.

Ferrari lost his father and brother in the war. He was not allowed to participate in the same war. He moved into his villa with his wife and mother who had a strong dislike for each other. Each woman was given their own side of the villa to live in. His mother died from choking on a boiled egg in 1965. Ferrari had a son with his wife. He died of muscular dystrophy and Ferrari became diligent about visiting his grave on a daily basis. He also carried a mistress who also bore him a son. His wife passed away in 1978 and his mistress and family moved to be with him in the Villa she had resided in.

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